Olivia
I try to do as he asks and get onto my knees before forcing myself to stand, but I fall again, hitting my head against
the wall.
Jasper rushes inside the bathroom. “I said help her wash, not kill her,” he says as he steps inside the shower. “What the f**k!? This is freezing.”
Tyson shrugs. “I thought cold water was good for people with a fever.”
Jasper mutters something under his breath as he takes me out of the shower and has me sit on the toilet. My shirt is soaked and cold, and it clings to me like a second skin, and I wrap my arms around myself.
“She is going to die sooner or later; I don’t see the point in dragging out the inevitable,” says Tyson.
Me either.
Jasper goes to check the temperature of the water. “You already know why.”
“If you think that by f**king her and posting videos of her and her nasty p**sy all over social media, we will finally be able to take down Senator Deymar, you are delusional. That man doesn’t give a f**k about her. He will even deny she is his daughter.”
Tyson is not wrong about my father, although he might get a heart attack if his career as a politician is ruined.
“You think that didn’t cross my mind? We will have Cirro look into the evidence once he is done with that job for the
Elders,” says Jasper.
What evidence?
Except for my birth certificate, there is little proof of me living with my parents while growing up. There had been a handful of times when I was allowed to be part of the family photos, and I am sure my mother had thrown them out already as she always hated the color of my hair. ‘Red is for whores,’ she used to say, although my hair is auburn, it was the same thing for her. Guess she was right in the end, I am a wh ore.
“Whatever. Like I said last night, I don’t want any part in this sh it,” Tyson says and leaves.
Jasper lets out a loud sigh before returning to me. “Do you need to use the toilet?”
I shake my head. He removes his clothes, then mine.
“Don’t mind Tyson. He always gets like this when he is editing one of his books,” he says as he takes me to the shower.
The water is warm enough to stop me from shaking.
Jasper is gentle as he cleans my hair.
I want to ask him why he is pretending to be nice to me, but men don’t like it when women are noisy, so I keep quiet
Olivia
and let my mind wander. I hate when I am forced to think or to feel, and I miss the numbness provided by drugs.
He takes my right hand in his and looks at my wrist. “No matter how hard you try, you will never be free of us.”
“I only wanted to find some drugs.”
“We are not into that sh it, and as I mentioned before, you are never going to take drugs again.”
“Why?” I whisper. “I am not harming anyone.”
“Rueben wants you to be clean and look healthy in the sex video we are going to make.”
“I can use makeup,” I suggest, letting him know I am willing to take part in their absurd plan of taking down my father. It’s not like I have any other option.
Jasper grabs my hip. “But you will still look like a living corpse. I don’t want the Dukes to think we are only feeding you on Mondays and Fridays.”
“You think the Dukes care about how I look? All they care about is f**king me.”
“If a Duke were right here, right now, he would see you only as a s*x s lave, and he would not ca re what happens to you, but once you are healthy and radiant, looking absolutely smitten with us, every single Duke in town will want to possess you completely and to anchor their angels to you.”
“No one wants me. I am damaged goods. A look at my scars and it is enough for anyone to know what I am.”
Jasper grabs my chin and forces me to look into his eyes. “Do you know what kintsugi is?” I shake my head. “It’s an old Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold.” Tracing a scar I have below my belly button, he adds, “Your scars, once healed, will glow.”
“No amount of gold will fix me.”
Jasper keeps talking, “When we film you being railed by us, making you scream our names, those watching the videos will know you are our woman.”
I frown. “Why is it important to make everyone believe I am your woman? You can always f**k me and show it to the world.”
“True. But the effect won’t be the same.” Probably noticing I am still confused, he adds, “You will understand soon.”
When I am clean and dried, Jasper takes me back to the room. Clean sheets and a new blanket are on the bed.
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